Shloka 9

Vṛtra’s Cosmic Threat, Viṣṇu’s Upāya, and the Conditional Vulnerability

Udyoga-parva 10

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत उद्योगपर्वके अन्तर्गत येनोट्रोगपर्वमें इन्द्रविजयविषयक नौवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

gatiḥ bhava tvaṃ devānāṃ sendrāṇām amarottama | jagad vyāptam idaṃ sarvaṃ vṛtreṇāsurasūdana || suraśreṣṭha! āpa indrasahita sampūrṇa devatāoṃ ke āśraya hoṃ | asurasūdana! vṛtrāsura ne is sampūrṇa jagat ko ākrānta kar liyā hai ||

Translation

ਹੇ ਅਮਰਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ! ਇੰਦਰ ਸਮੇਤ ਸਾਰੇ ਦੇਵਤਿਆਂ ਲਈ ਤੂੰ ਹੀ ਆਸਰਾ ਬਣ। ਹੇ ਅਸੁਰ-ਸੂਦਨ! ਵ੍ਰਿਤ੍ਰ ਨੇ ਇਸ ਸਾਰੇ ਜਗਤ ਨੂੰ ਘੇਰ ਲਿਆ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'gatiḥ', 'definition': 'refuge

• means of deliverance'}, {'term': 'bhava', 'definition': 'be

• become (imperative)'}, {'term': 'tvaṃ', 'definition': 'you'}, {'term': 'devānām', 'definition': 'of the gods'}, {'term': 'sendrāṇām', 'definition': 'together with Indra

• having Indra (as leader)'}, {'term': 'amarottama', 'definition': 'best among the immortals (epithet of a chief deity, typically Indra/Viṣṇu)'}, {'term': 'jagat', 'definition': 'the world

• the moving universe'}, {'term': 'vyāptam', 'definition': 'pervaded

• overrun'}, {'term': 'idaṃ sarvam', 'definition': 'this entire (all of this)'}, {'term': 'vṛtreṇa', 'definition': 'by Vṛtra (instrumental)'}, {'term': 'asurasūdana', 'definition': 'slayer of demons/asuras (epithet of a divine protector)'}, {'term': 'suraśreṣṭha', 'definition': 'best among the gods'}]

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• शल्य (Śalya)
• इन्द्र (Indra)
• देवाः (the gods)
• वृत्र / वृत्रासुर (Vṛtra/Vṛtrāsura)
• जगत् (the world)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When the world-order is threatened, the righteous look to the proper protector and leader as their gati—refuge and decisive recourse. The verse frames leadership as responsibility: the strongest and most capable must uphold dharma and protect the vulnerable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya addresses a supreme divine figure (praised as amarottama, asurasūdana, suraśreṣṭha), urging him to become the refuge of the gods along with Indra, because Vṛtra has overrun the entire world—signaling a cosmic emergency that demands divine intervention.